Chapter 87: External Application, Internal Consumption

There's an empty grave inside the coffin?

What kind of configuration is this?

Xu Qing had seen coffins filled with soil, but he had heard of a grave being put inside a coffin instead of the coffin being buried in a grave for the first time.

Opening the red-lacquered coffin, the group poked their heads in to look.

Hey! It really is spacious!

The scene before them was as if the wall the coffin was leaning against had been dug into a large kiln cave, extending inward for a zhang or so.

Xu Qing controlled the puppet and cautiously circled inside.

The space inside the coffin was like an iron pot inverted on the ground, with a semi-circular dome on top and ordinary ground on the bottom, except that the ground didn't know what kind of soil it was rammed with, and it was incredibly hard.

"This is a good object. Fellow Daoist can put a lot of belongings inside in the future, and it won't take up space."

Xu Qing was not happy. He had the Mountain and River Map and the Box Garden; did he still need this thing to use as a storage magic tool?

Besides, the coffin before him was as tall as a person and as thick as two people hugging, and it was quite heavy overall. It wasn't convenient for him to carry it around.

Temporarily closing the coffin lid, Xu Qing turned back and continued the immortal banquet with the Hou grandfather and granddaughter and the other three or four small animals.

After the banquet dispersed, Huang Laoxu chatted with Xuanyu for a while before leaving.

Xu Qing heard that this old yellow weasel had brought gifts because it was afraid that the new cat-immortal would harass its descendants, so it had to run over in person.

"The yellow weasels of Xijing Mountain are all this old man's juniors. If the immortal meets them in the future, please show some convenience. This old man thanks you in advance..."

When the moon was in the middle of the sky, the mortuary returned to silence.

If it weren't for the leftovers on the table, it would seem as if no one had ever visited.

Xu Qing had no heart to clean up the bowls and chopsticks at this time. He opened the black coffin lid, looked at the ugly female zombie, and calculated in his heart.

Yang Qiying had been dead for decades, and no one knew when he had refined this corpse. If he estimated conservatively, it was probably nearly a hundred years old.

Plus the age of the female zombie before she died... Xu Qing's gaze flickered. In his eyes, the ugly zombie before him seemed to have turned into a peerless beauty, which made him satisfied everywhere.

A person from over a hundred years ago, and a Silver-Armored Corpse—I think she would be very valuable, right?

Xu Qing hooked the female zombie, like calling a cat, and led her into the red-lacquered coffin, which had more space and was more suitable for him to play.

Outside the coffin, Xuanyu was sitting obediently.

Immortal Xu had said that as long as it waited outside for a little while, Immortal Xu would process this female zombie into a horse-riding disciple suitable for the immortal to possess, for it to drive.

Xuanyu looked at the water clock on the counter from time to time. It had never felt that a stick of incense worth of time was so long.

Inside the red-lacquered coffin, Xu Qing closed the coffin door, rubbed his hands, and came to the female zombie who was standing still.

In the space of a zhang or so, the female zombie was dazed, letting the young man before her take her hand and stroke it.

It wasn't until the female zombie felt a power that made her tremble incomparably being poured into every part of her body through the place where the two touched that she finally woke up.

That was the feeling one only has when encountering a natural enemy!

It was just that the moment the female zombie awakened, she had completely lost control of her body.

A Silver-Armored Corpse, possessing ten thousand jin of strength, and a body that was invulnerable to swords and guns, was like paper in front of the *Scripture of Transcending People*, breaking with a single poke.

The terrifying power instantly drowned the female zombie's consciousness. At this time, no matter how high her cultivation was, she couldn't change the fact that she was a corpse.

The entire process of Xu Qing subduing the female zombie and transcending the other party didn't encounter any obstacles. 【87-

The female zombie knelt quietly on the ground, her head hanging low.

Xu Qing sat cross-legged to the side, pulling her small hand over as if he were a physician checking her pulse, observing the ups and downs of her life.

The female zombie was named Lu Ping; in her lifetime, she had been an inner-sect disciple of the Yin Corpse Sect, most skilled in the methods of refining and controlling corpses.

The Yin Corpse Sect was located on Mount Wusong, over four hundred miles northwest of Jinmen. This mountain was shrouded in mist year-round, and even the most experienced treasure-seekers were generally unwilling to enter the territory of Mount Wusong to search for mountain treasures.

Lu Ping was clever and quick-witted, with high aptitude. At thirteen, she was led into the mountains by an Elder of the Yin Corpse Sect to cultivate, and by fourteen, she had already read through the scriptures of the sect, becoming familiar with various methods for refining and raising corpses.

Beyond that, she was also well-versed in all the rules of the Yin Corpse Sect.

Disciples of the Yin Corpse Sect were divided into three ranks: disciples before the seat, inner-sect disciples, and registered disciples.

Among them, registered disciples had the least human rights; besides their daily cultivation, they had to take on many dirty and exhausting tasks.

According to sect rules, these registered disciples who came to learn skills were equivalent to having signed a deed of indenture from the moment they joined the Yin Corpse Sect. Any registered disciple over sixty who failed to advance would end up being picked out by inner-sect disciples to be refined into a zombie.

Lu Ping began formally practicing corpse-control methods at fourteen, and by seventeen, she had refined and raised her first Iron-Armored Corpse.

But an Iron-Armored Corpse was only the lowest grade among wandering corpses, and in the eyes of the Yin Corpse Sect's inner-sect disciples, it was considered unranked trash.

Lu Ping was naturally competitive and couldn't stand her own raised zombies being mocked, so she set her sights on the registered disciples over sixty.

The Yin Corpse Sect had secret methods to track the whereabouts of registered disciples. Lu Ping flipped through the list, only to find that the registered disciples in the sect who were around sixty had all been picked clean by her senior brothers and sisters. The remaining ones, aged seventy or eighty and retired at home, were all "corpse seeds" that everyone had abandoned because they were missing limbs or parts after going out on missions.

Seeing that she couldn't find a suitable subject for refining, Lu Ping had a flash of inspiration and set her sights on a fifty-eight-year-old registered disciple.

Fifty-eight years old—only two years away from the sixty-year threshold.

With a plan in mind, Lu Ping packed her bags and descended the mountain to track down this registered disciple.

Not long after, Lu Ping found the corpse-refining embryo she had been longing for in a small village in Xiangyin County.

That embryo was none other than Liu Youdao's master, Yang Qiying.

As soon as they met, Yang Qiying respectfully addressed Lu Ping, who was not yet twenty, as Senior Sister.

Facing this junior brother who was so respectful to her, Lu Ping showed no tolerance or pity.

She stated the purpose of her visit directly: she wanted Yang Qiying to be her corpse seed.

"Senior Sister, why be so impatient? I am still two years away from the sixty-year threshold. Once those two years pass, I will naturally return to repay the sect's kindness in teaching me."

Lu Ping could not wait two years and said bluntly, "Two years is too long; I only care about the present! Junior Brother Yang, don't forget, it is a grave crime for a registered disciple to privately pass on sect techniques."

"As an inner-sect disciple, I have the authority to purge the sect. Junior Brother Yang surely wouldn't want anything to happen to his own disciple, would he?"

"Senior Sister, that rule isn't calculated that way. Which disciple in the sect nearing the sixty-year threshold doesn't first take in a disciple, and then bring them back to the sect to enter the mountain gate when they turn sixty?"

"By comparison, it is you, Senior Sister, who is truly breaking sect rules by coming to forcibly demand a corpse seed before I have reached the age."

Seeing a mere registered disciple dare to talk back like this, Lu Ping was annoyed. She took out her corpse-driving bell and controlled the Iron-Armored Wandering Corpse she had raised, wanting to vent her anger.

One was an inner-sect disciple with the sect's true teachings, the other a common registered disciple; if the two were to fight, the outcome seemed already clear.

Just as Xu Qing was wondering how Yang Qiying would fight back, he saw the old man in the revolving lantern take off running and bolt into the village.

His movements were so agile that even a young man of seventeen or eighteen would be no match.

Lu Ping was stunned, her expression turning gloomy. She controlled the Iron-Armored Corpse to pursue him all the way, but when she reached a courtyard, she found Yang Qiying standing right in the center, with no intention of running any further.

"Junior Brother Yang, you are no match for me. If you obediently submit, I, as your Senior Sister, can show mercy and take your nephew back to the sect, allowing him to become a registered disciple in good standing."

Hearing this, Yang Qiying suddenly burst into laughter: "Registered disciple! I have wasted my entire life on those four words!"

"Senior Sister, were you not also abducted into the sect? Why then do you now seek to exterminate those in the same plight as yourself?"

Hearing this, Lu Ping reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, angrily retorting, "What does my being abducted have to do with you? From the moment I entered the mountain gate, I have been an inner-sect disciple, with people to serve my every need. How can a lowly outer-sect disciple like you compare to me?"

Having said that, Lu Ping, burning with shame and anger, controlled the Iron-Armored Corpse to charge into the courtyard.

The Iron-Armored Corpse let out a strange "Heh-heh" sound from its throat, and upon reaching the courtyard, it swung its arms and lunged at Yang Qiying.

"Youdao, release the net!"

At Yang Qiying's command, a large net was suddenly thrown from the side, covering the Iron-Armored Corpse head-on.

Before the Iron-Armored Corpse could land, Yang Qiying bit the tip of his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of true yang blood onto the net. Where the zombie touched the hot blood, black smoke immediately began to hiss and rise.

While Yang Qiying circled with the Iron-Armored Corpse, he shook his corpse-driving bell, and four or five walking corpses suddenly stood up from a thatched hut to the side, then lunged toward Lu Ping's position.

Seeing this, Lu Ping snorted coldly, formed a hand seal, and chanted the corpse-driving incantation; the lunging corpses immediately changed masters.

"Junior Brother, the true teachings are with me; your little bit of skill is not quite enough!"

Yang Qiying's expression remained calm. Taking advantage of Lu Ping's distraction, he led the rope-net-covered Iron-Armored Corpse toward the wall.

At the foot of the wall, two narrow-mouthed, pot-bellied wine jars were sitting there.

Seeing the Iron-Armored Corpse lunging at him, Yang Qiying simply threw all the corpse-control talismans he had on him at once. The corpse-control incantation started, and the talismans flashed with a faint red light, stalling the Iron-Armored Corpse's movements for a moment.

In the side room, Liu Youdao shook the corpse-driving bell vigorously and chanted the corpse-stopping incantation, attempting to affect Lu Ping, who was controlling the group of corpses.

It was at this moment that Lu Ping suddenly heard the crisp sound of bowls and plates shattering in the courtyard.

She looked over and saw Yang Qiying pick up one of the jars from the corner of the wall and rush toward the Iron-Armored Corpse without regard for his own safety.

The wine jar shattered, and the peculiar scent of lamp oil spread out.

Lu Ping frowned slightly. She had taken a fancy to Yang Qiying's body and couldn't bear to damage it, which was why she had been holding back, but now she suddenly sensed something was wrong. The elderly junior brother before her had never shown the slightest bit of fear toward her.

Ignoring what Lu Ping was thinking, Yang Qiying saw the Iron-Armored Corpse drenched in lamp oil and shouted loudly, "Youdao, the torch!"

In the room, Liu Youdao's figure vanished for an instant, and when he reappeared, he already held a flaming torch in his hand.

The fist-sized flame streaked across the courtyard and landed on the rope net dragging behind the Iron-Armored Corpse.

The lamp oil touched the open flame, and a trail of fire whooshed into a sheet of flame.

In an instant, the Iron-Armored Corpse became a human torch.

The sound of the zombie's screeching, mixed with the thick, pungent smell of flames roasting the corpse, filled the courtyard. Lu Ping wanted to control the Iron-Armored Corpse to save itself, but she found that the burning lamp oil had severed her connection to it.

With his chest open and his solid muscles exposed, Yang Qiying held a long blade and looked at Lu Ping, who had completely lost her composure.

As a young person just starting out, how could her experience in fighting compare to Yang Qiying, who had traveled the length and breadth of the country?

Now that the roles of attacker and defender had reversed, Yang Qiying raised his blade and brought it down, finishing off the blocking walking corpse. He arrived before the trembling Lu Ping and said coldly, "Zombies fear fire. This is lamp oil I specifically sought from Cizhao Temple; it is the greatest bane to evil spirits."

"Originally, these things weren't meant to be used until two years from now, but today, they have served you well, Senior Sister."

What corpse-drivers fear most is being approached in close quarters. Now that Lu Ping had lost her Iron-Armored Corpse as a crutch, she became a fish on the chopping block.

Yang Qiying had some martial arts skills, and after subduing Lu Ping in a few moves, he did not immediately take her life.

Xu Qing saw Lu Ping being interrogated by Yang Qiying for the inner-sect cultivation methods, and also saw the process of Lu Ping being strangled to death by Yang Qiying.

Afterward, Lu Ping was refined into a Silver-Armored Corpse, but Yang Qiying rarely drove her; most of the time, she spent her days in a coffin.

Only occasionally, when encountering opponents that were difficult to deal with, would Yang Qiying let Lu Ping see the light of day again.

But such situations were few and far between; in the revolving lantern, after Lu Ping became a zombie, she only acted twice.

Once was when Yang Qiying encountered bandit soldiers raiding the village he was in; that night, he hid it from Liu Youdao and took Lu Ping to wipe out the bandits' lair.

Another time was when Yang Qiying stumbled upon an ancient tomb with quite formidable mechanisms; he drove Lu Ping and, relying on the Silver-Armored Corpse's invulnerability to blades and spears, forced his way in and excavated the tomb.

After that, Lu Ping was sealed in the coffin and was never used again, even after Yang Qiying died.

Xu Qing was silent for a long time. In Liu Youdao's memories, Yang Qiying had once accidentally fallen off a cliff, resulting in a limp.

He would limp while driving corpses, and his peers called him "One-Leg," a name that stuck until Yang Qiying passed away.

Thinking about it now, the story about falling off the cliff was likely a lie; the truth was most likely that Yang Qiying, in order to deal with the Yin Corpse Sect and avoid becoming an embryo for corpse refining, had sacrificed his own limb to survive.

Coming back to his senses, Xu Qing looked at the rewards.

The Scripture of Salvation evaluated the corpse as: Earth-grade, low quality.

The reward was a "Shade-Corpse Method" and three Corpse-Nurturing Pills.

The Shade-Corpse Method was an external refining technique that could help nourish corpses located in shady ground by changing the surrounding environment.

Xu Qing thought of the nearly one hundred corpses buried under his own residence.

His haunted house was thick with yin evil energy, but it couldn't improve the quality of the corpses.

With the Shade-Corpse Method, he figured he could further improve the quality of the corpses in his residence, giving him a better chance of condensing "Chang Generals" instead of ordinary "Chang Soldiers" when he raised his ghost soldiers in the future.

The remaining Corpse-Nurturing Pills could also improve zombie quality; if the Shade-Corpse Method was an external application, then the Corpse-Nurturing Pills were internal medicine.

This was the first time Xu Qing had obtained an item that could directly temper a zombie's physical body.

(End of chapter)